Inclusive digital education and laboratory training by connecting rail educational laboratories Erasmus Project

Project Title

Inclusive digital education and laboratory training by connecting rail educational laboratories

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Open and distance learning; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The IDEALCAREL project is focused on the education of railway engineers at universities. The project consortium envisages three universities that offer bachelor’s and master’s degree study programs including courses in the railway laboratory. So, the project partners are linked by the usage of special practical trainings in railway laboratories. These special equipped educational rooms are at different technical levels, but providing training for students is a common feature of education. Railway laboratories as an important educational and research base of the university serves also for cooperation in the education of railway experts for practical purposes, i.e. for staff of infrastructure managers and railway undertakings. The need for an innovative approach to education within the transition to digital formulates an unique opportunity to create a new methodological procedures in trainings. This obtain process of creation an unified curricula despite various national differences in traffic management in the regulatory base of railway infrastructure managers. At the same time, the project contributes to meet the objectives of EU transport policy, which includes creation of a single European railway area and to establish an interoperable railway system.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, new ideas have to be developed on how the contents of the exercises can be taught digitally in order to be prepared for challenges such as a pandemic in the future. This project aims at equipping education of railway engineers to face the challenges presented by the shift to online and distance learning, including supporting teachers to develop digital competences and safeguarding the inclusive nature of learning opportunities. This is a comprehensive task of codifying and standardizing training content, which requires extensive research work and communication with practice. The outputs will be used to railway engineers in the academic field.
The solution of the project is divided into four phases, within which three Intellectual Outputs (IO) are planned. The first IO1 is focused on a comprehensive analysis of railway sector at the level of the EU for investigating the educational needs and innovations. The second IO2 is oriented to work out the relevant study materials that are suitable for distance education in special conditions of railway laboratory training. The main objective is to support practical exercises in the railway laboratory by innovative approaches, in particular software support and multimedia teaching tool support in digital education. The third IO3 is aimed to develop a concept for digital teaching of the laboratory content, so this material can be used internationally. The content of the curriculum i.e. training scheme in specialized subjects included in university study plan, especially in the bachelor’s degree, means to create conditions for full support of students in development of practical skills in connection with the theoretical knowledge.

As the IDEALCAREL project team consists of universities from different countries with different state of knowledge and experiences with laboratory training education, the methodology of “knowledge exchange” will be applied throughout the whole project (between teaching staff as well with students). The definition of methodology for practical teaching materials approach will be achieved by use of brainstorming a validation.
Achieving the planned outputs is guaranteed by the set out of project implementation schedule, project management and division of responsibilities for individual intellectual tasks, budget as well the rules of communication between the partners.

The planned results of the project is creation of learning materials and training concept for the railway traffic operation, indicates the nature of the research task at all. As a part of the task, the project partners will develop and apply the knowledge gained in basic research projects. Every university educated for the railway sector will benefit from the project results. By using the developed teaching material, they will be able to set up generic lectures and have a recourse trap level for laboratory training.

The impact of the project is in the achieving the education process on higher quality level for the railway market. With this effort, engineering students benefit from a generic understanding of the system without focusing on national operational rules. This leads to promote higher flexibility, tailored contents, operational and practical subjects for educational courses in the rail sector, and in the more general Transport domain. Very important is to promote and / or reinforce the interaction between educational establishments and industry, through “trusting partnerships” between academia and practitioners. This graduates will contribute to the creation of railway system as a modern, interoperable, sustainable and green transport mode.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 212761 Eur

Project Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET BRAUNSCHWEIG & Country: DE

Project Partners

• SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU
• ZILINSKA UNIVERZITA V ZILINE